Chloride

At a Glance

Chloride is an essential mineral for humans. It helps with nerve impulse transmission, cardiac function, and muscle contraction, and aids in the digestion and absorption of many nutrients. Chloride can be found in a wide variety of whole foods, including grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

Overview

Chloride is an essential mineral for humans. On average, an adult human body contains approximately 115 grams of chloride, making up 0.15% of total body weight.

Importance

Chloride has many functions in the body including:

Maintaining an electrochemical gradient across cell membranes, which is important for nerve impulse transmission, cardiac function, and muscle contraction

Aiding in the digestion and absorption of many nutrients.

Food Sources

Chloride can be found in several foods including:

Whole grains

Whole fruits

Vegetables

Lean meats

Legumes

Nuts/seeds.

Deficiencies

Common symptoms and resulting conditions of chloride deficiency include:

Low blood pressure

Weaknees.

However, your individual response could be different. If you suspect a health problem or deficiency in certain nutrients, please see your primary health care provider (doctor, naturopath, etc). They can help unravel the complexity of your physiology.

Note: chloride deficiency is rare and only occurs as a result of serious diarrhea, vomiting, or excessive fluid loss.

Excess/Toxicity

Common symptoms of chloride excess/toxicity include:

Increased fluid volume and edema

Nausea

Vomiting

Diarrhea.

However, your individual response could be different. If you suspect a health problem or an excess of certain nutrients, please see your primary health care provider (doctor, naturopath, etc). They can help unravel the complexity of your physiology.

Note: toxicity is rare and typically only occurs with impaired chloride metabolism or in kidney diseases.

Recipe

For recipes rich in chloride, check out any of the Encyclopedia of Food entries for food items listed above.

Free Recipe Book

Precision Nutrition’s Encyclopedia of Food expands every single month as we highlight new foods and showcase beautiful food photography. If you’d like to stay up to date, simply click this link. From there, we’ll send you a FREE copy of our recipe book. We’ll also let you know when new and delicious foods are added to the site.

Related Foods

At a Glance

Chloride is an essential mineral for humans. It helps with nerve impulse transmission, cardiac function, and muscle contraction, and aids in the digestion and absorption of many nutrients. Chloride can be found in a wide variety of whole foods, including grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, legumes, nuts, and seeds.